Lend an Ear
by starspangledpumpkin
Summary: Neville is spending an evening at home when Hermione shows up seeking someone to talk to.


**Hufflepuff**

 **Seventh Year**

 **Standard**

 **Word Count:** 841

 **HC Prompt:** [Pairing] Neville Longbottom/Hermione Granger

 **MC4A Challenges:** Lessons Learned; By Any Other Name

 **Bonus Challenges:** Terse; Second Verse: (Not a Lamp; Hot Apple; Toto's Tribute; These Boots)

~o0o~

 _BANG!_

Neville crossed his cottage to shut the window the storm had forced open. There was no thunder or lightning, but the wind and rain threatened to blow his house away. Peering out into the darkness for a moment, he stepped back and closed the curtains. It felt like a visitor was coming. Before he had become flatmates with Luna Lovegood he never would've had an intuition for things like this, but she was teaching him how to read the atmosphere.

As she would suggest, he put the kettle on for two. She was currently working with Castelobruxo. That's why they were flatmates. He didn't mind sharing his house with someone who was barely home long enough to make it worth paying rent for their own place.

Sure enough, as soon as the kettle whistled, the bell next to his door chimed signaling a visitor had apparated on his doorstep.

Neville opened the door on the first knock to see Hermione standing there still in her work robes, her waterlogged hair nearly straight from the torrential downpour.

"Sorry, Neville," she said. "I didn't know where else to go."

"Well, come in and get warm," he said, stepping aside. "I'm afraid I don't know any drying charms, but I think you can borrow a set of Luna's robes so you don't catch a cold."

He led her to Luna's room and got a towel out of the linen closet for her.

"I've got tea on," he said.

"Thank you," she whispered, wiping her eyes.

He nodded and went back to fixing the tea. He also got out the special tin of cakes he reserved for his troubled students. He found they were more likely to seek his help when he lived on the edge of the grounds of Hogwarts.

Hermione emerged soon enough and silently sat down in a chair by the fire. She accepted the cup of tea from Neville but didn't drink. She merely held it in her hands and hunched over as if she were carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"What happened, Hermione?" he asked.

She inhaled sharply and exhaled shakily. "I'm pregnant."

Neville blinked. "And… that isn't good news?"

"A few months ago it might have been," she said, swiping her palm across her cheek. "Ron and I aren't in a good spot right now. We haven't been for a while."

"H-He's not hurting you, is he?" Neville asked uncertainly.

"Oh, Merlin, no," said Hermione. "No, he would never hit me. He's just… I hate to sound childish, but he's just so… _mean_. I thought he would have grown up by now and moved past that but he is also horribly jealous. I can't talk to any of my male coworkers without him pitching a fit, but if _he_ wants to smile and flirt with some tart to get information for a mission that is just _fine_."

Neville sat and listened while Hermione vented about her relationship with Ron and how things have just seemed to revert back to when they were teenagers. In his unprofessional opinion, Neville felt that Hermione and Ron were too stubborn for their own good and didn't know how to bend back. Hermione was an only child and Ron had six siblings so they were raised differently. He saw those differences in his students. He could always tell apart the only children and the children with siblings. Ron was a loyal friend and would fight for anyone but he would also fight those closest to him just as easily.

"I've had a crush on him since Second-Year," said Hermione. "But now I'm thinking it's just because I was close to him. We don't have anything in common."

"You don't have to have anything in common," said Neville, "as long as you listen to each other."

"And he doesn't listen!" she huffed. "He just doesn't care!"

"That can't be true," said Neville weakly.

"It is true!" she began to cry again. "I asked for a divorce because I thought it would make him see sense and, I don't know, _fight_ for me. Fight for _us_. Instead, he just agreed, packed a suitcase and left to stay with George. I found out a few days later I was pregnant."

"Why did you come to me?" Neville asked.

"Because you're a calming presence," she said. "I knew you would listen and not just sit there and tell me how awful Ron is and how I'm 'right to leave him.' I also trust you to not spread this. Rumors spread at the Ministry like wildfire."

"I won't tell a soul," said Neville.

Hermione sniffed. "I trust you."

Neville reached over and took her hand, holding it firmly.

"Hey," he said. "If you need anything. A place to stay, someone to talk to, I'll be here, alright? I've always considered you a friend and you were there for me when Snape was tearing me down. So I'll be there for you, too."

Hermione gave him a watery smile and squeezed back.

"Thank you, Neville."


End file.
